Kids and Failure: How Overindulgent Parents are Destroying Our Future

Either ill-informed or unwilling to guide their children into successful adulthood, overprotective parents choose to shield their children from any disappointments or letdowns that happen in their lives.

Whether it’s in the classroom, playground, or the child’s life in general, failure is discouraged.

When their child's peers have won academic awards and their own child has earned nothing, parents confront teachers and school administration.

Because their child didn't win anything, even though they hadn't earned it, parents believe they should still be awarded something because it's unfair otherwise.

In sports competitions, parents balk when their kids sit on the sidelines watching other children, who have practiced and worked hard to excel in the sport, earn trophies.  Now, in order to make everything fair, every child must get an award just for showing up or participating so no one is disappointed.

Anything that can be termed as being unfair is slowly being eliminated from our education system, our playgrounds, and from society.

It's not fair that some kids are picked last, so no games which require choosing sides are allowed. It's not fair that slower kids are singled out in dodgeball, so, naturally, that game has been banned on many playgrounds.

Whatever happened to parents telling their children, "it's okay. Work harder and I bet you'll get it next time?"

It's said with good intentions. Some adults had truly horrible childhoods. On the other hand, if the parent hadn’t had those experiences, would they be the person they are today? Would they be as successful?

Another excuse indulgent parents give is,"the world is tough and kids will experience it soon enough. There’s no need to make it hard on them now."

Well, life is tough. Training to be a good adult begins in childhood. Overindulgent parents rob their children of life skills they'll need later in life. 

Perhaps one reason why so many young adults move out, only to return back home soon after, is because they are faced with hardships and responsibilities their parents didn’t prepare them for. As a result, they don't know how to cope.

Mom and dad may think they have their children's best interest in mind when they shield them from experiencing failure and disappointment, but without failure, how will kids learn to improve?

As it was, Edison was home schooled by his mother.  He became one of the greatest inventors in history, all in spite of adversities he experienced in early childhood.

Inventing new things and new ideas are the direct result of trial and error. In adulthood, Edison failed many times before his inventions, many of which have shaped our modern world, became a reality.

It has been said that it took Edison 9,999 failures before he finally invented the first practical incandescent light bulb. The end result of multiple failures is what lights our world today.

Tesla once said, "our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more."

In other words, failure is as much a part of a person as success. Without failure, there can be no success.